What Is Narcissism? Signs, Examples, & Causes

• Signs of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD)
• Example behaviors and beliefs
• Grandiose vs. vulnerable
• What does it feel like?
• How it affects relationships
• Causes
• Treatments
• Learn more

“Narcissism” is a word people use loosely in popular culture to mean tendencies like self-importance, entitlement, and arrogance.

The name comes from the ancient Greek myth of Narcissus, a beautiful, vain young man who is cursed to fall in love with his own image in a pond and gaze at it until he perishes.

It’s normal for people to have narcissistic behaviors from time to time, but in someone with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) it’s more extreme, happens frequently, and gets in the way of the person’s everyday functioning — especially how they interact with others.

About 0% to 6.2% of people have it, research has found, and men may be nearly twice as likely to have it compared with women.

Signs of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD)

NPD is a personality disorder that presents in individuals as a pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy, according to the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Illnesses (DSM-5).

Psychiatrists use the DSM-5 to make formal mental health diagnoses.

The manual breaks narcissism down into nine main features, noting that an adult must exhibit at least five on the list persistently to receive a diagnosis of NPD. The main features of narcissism in the DSM-5 are: 

• Grandiose sense of self-importance
• Preoccupation with fantasies of greatness, which may or may not be delusional
• Belief in their superiority
• Excessive need for admiration
• Sense of entitlement 
• Willingness to exploit others 
• Lack of empathy 
• Frequent envy or belief that others envy them
• Arrogance or patronizing behavior 

It is uniquely difficult to diagnose NPD because its characteristics overlap with a variety of other personality disorders. People with NPD also don’t tend to understand their behavior is a problem.

Example behaviors and beliefs

Here are some common beliefs and behaviors of people with NPD:

• May be friendly to some people but cruel to others
• Bragging about something that shows they have a high status
• Inability to take criticism and becoming enraged easily
• Fragile ego
• Have difficulty following rules
• Impaired social or work status caused by their behaviors
• Attention-seeking behaviors
• Provocative clothing, tattoos, or hairstyles
• Highly talkative
• Irritable
• Arrogant behavior like smirking or scoffing
• Does not see or accept their own deficits and behavioral issues
• Poor impulse control
• Don’t believe the rules apply to them

Types of narcissism

The DSM-5 description of NPD focuses on traits such as inflated sense of self-importance, lack of empathy, and need for control. But narcissism, like any personality disorder, expresses itself in different ways. 

The definitions and categorizations of narcissism are ever-changing, and there are many controversies within the field. However, experts believe NPD has two main types:

Grandiose narcissism 

This type of NPD is defined by expressions of verbal and emotional abuse, such as grandiosity, callousness, entitlement, aggression, dominance, rage, vengefulness, manipulativeness, and sometimes physical or sexual abuse.

People with grandiose narcissism may be relatively functional in their casual relationships, due to their extroverted personalities, but people in close relationships with them often experience harm from the full extent of their symptoms. 

Vulnerable narcissism aka covert narcissism 

You might have heard the term “covert narcissism,” which describes an expression of the disorder that’s harder to spot. In clinical settings, covert narcissism is called “vulnerable narcissism.” 

In addition to self-importance and lack of empathy, vulnerable narcissism is characterized by neuroticism, depression, anxiety, hypersensitivity, defensiveness, and low trust.

People with this type of NPD also have a fragile ego.

Overlap with other personality disorders

People with NPD may also be more likely to have depression and anxiety as well as other personality disorders, including antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy.

What does a person with narcissism feel?

A major characteristic of NPD is lack of empathy. That is, a person with the condition doesn’t have the emotional or cognitive ability to put themselves in someone else’s shoes. For this reason, they may find it very difficult to understand other people’s perspectives.

The harmful behaviors in a person with NPD may be driven by internal fragility. They may have a lack of self-esteem, so may feel easily hurt by anything they perceive as criticism.

They may have a weak sense of self and a lack of agency — that is, a sense of powerlessness and a lack of confidence in their ability to take meaningful action.

People with narcissistic traits tend to have certain temperaments, including:

• Low harm avoidance: Acting without regard for the consequences
• Dependence on rewards: Such as seeking praise from others or being seen as high status
• Desire for novelty: May come out as thrill-seeking behavior or being very social
• Persistence: They may strive for social status and accomplishment despite harms it might cause to themselves or others

How narcissism can affect relationships

The way NPD comes out can be quite different from person to person, but persistent or severe narcissistic behavior can damage relationships and hurt other people. A person with NPD is highly focused on fulfilling their own needs and will do this at the expense of others.

People with narcissistic traits and NPD have difficulty maintaining long-term relationships, and they often have a history of chaotic relationships.

They often have trouble regulating their emotions, so may lash out in anger at those around them. Some people with NPD may be physically or emotionally abusive toward others. Being in a relationship with a person who has NPD can feel like an emotional rollercoaster.

A person with NPD is often concerned with having a high status, and may form relationships to increase their own social status — or treat people poorly whom they believe have a low social status.

Causes of narcissism

Researchers are still finding out what causes narcissism, but several factors appear to contribute.

There’s evidence some narcissistic tendencies can be genetically inherited. It can also result from brain injuries due to many different factors, such as:

• Head trauma
• Brain tumor
• Epilepsy
• Multiple sclerosis
• Heavy metal poisoning
• AIDS

Individual events or conditions in a person’s life can also contribute to narcissistic personality traits, such as traumatic experiences. 

Some societal factors may also encourage narcissistic behavior.

For example, one 2025 paper pointed out how some cultures or subcultures, like market-oriented economies, may promote people with narcissistic personalities to leadership roles because they incentivize self-promotion and striving for personal gain at the cost of others.

Research shows people diagnosed with NPD have differences in certain structures in their brains, particularly those related to reward processing and self-esteem.

Narcissistic traits are normal in child development

Having a moderate level of narcissistic traits can be a healthy part of development. Researchers observe that they typically start being visible in children around age 8, increase into the teenage years, then decrease as a person reaches adulthood.

However, showing more narcissism in adolescence is connected with having narcissistic traits as an adult.

Treatments

Diagnosis and treatment can be difficult with people who have NPD. They’re less likely to seek a diagnosis because they may not see their behaviors as harmful. Often they seek help because others who are negatively impacted by their behavior ask them to.

NPD doesn’t usually go away, even when people receive treatment. But therapy can help stabilize their social functioning and reduce conflicts they have with others.

Therapy is the main treatment for NPD. One type of therapy called transferred-focused therapy is thought to be more effective. Drug treatments aren’t usually recommended.

If needed, a person with NPD may also benefit from help from a case worker or occupational therapist meeting their basic needs, such as shelter, employment, medical help, and mental health services.

Learn more

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